You've just taken your vehicle in to figure out why the air conditioning isn't working. You remember a friend of yours just had to get a new evaporator, and your service advisor has told you it's the same part that needs to be replaced in your vehicle. But when you hear the estimated price for yours, it's different than your friend's. How can that be?



The reason is that no two repairs—and no two vehicles—are alike. Let's take the evaporator for example. In one vehicle, the part may be fairly easy for the technician to access. In the other, it requires that the entire dashboard to be removed. Because of the way a particular unit is designed, the shop may also require special tools. 

The parts for your vehicle may cost more or less than for your friend's. Parts for newer vehicles and foreign nameplates can cost considerably more than parts for older or domestic vehicles. So now you can see how two repairs that might sound similar can vary so much in price.

You can be confident you're getting a fair price on repairs through your relationship with your NAPA AutoCare Center. They install quality parts and offer a parts and labor warranty on their work.

No one likes to pay a lot of money for vehicle repairs. Designers and engineers have made great strides in corrosion prevention and powertrain technology. Newer vehicles can last longer than older models did. One major consumer magazine says that if you can keep your vehicle going for 200,000 miles/320,000 km—an average of 15 years—it can save you up to $30,000 or more on the cost of a new vehicle. With that kind of savings, investing in repairs makes a lot of sense, don't you think?